. this morning on "early today," strategy shift. mitt romney backs off his 47% remarks while president obama sharpens his attacks. leap of faith. tense moments as a mother and her five kids are forced to jump from a burning building. and sweet mystery why are bes in france producing green and sweet mystery why are bes in france producing green and blue honey? captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry, and today we begin with back to battle. the two presidential candidates are busy attacking each other on the campaign trail following their first debate.

today president obama will be campaigning in virginia and ohio and mitt romney is in virginia. governor romney boasted about his debate performance and told supporters he will take back the white house, but for the first time romney backed away from his controversial remarks about the 47% of americans who don't pay federal income taxes. he was asked what he would have said if that came up in the debate. >> clearly in a campaign with hundreds if not thousands of speeches and question and answer sessions, now and then you're going to say something that doesn't come out right. in this case i said something that's just completely wrong. i absolutely believe, however, that my life has shown that i care about 100%. >> president obama campaigned in wisconsin and sharply criticized romney's statements during the debate on tax cuts, education and outsourcing as misleading to the middle class and the president had this to say about his opponent's plan for reducing the deficit.

>> i just want to make sure i got this straight. he'll get rid of regulations on wall street but he's going to crack down on sesame street. thank goodness somebody's finally cracking down on big bird. who knew that he was responsible for all these deficits. elmo's got to watch out. >> and vice president joe biden was campaigning in iowa saying that mitt romney flip-flopped on his own tax cut plan that was the center piece of the gop campaign and biden challenged the republicans on the tax sue. >> you know the phrase he always used, biden want to raise taxes by $8 trillion. guess what, yes, we do, in one regard, we want to let that trillion dollar tax cut expire so the middle class doesn't have to bear the burden of all that

money going to the super wealthy. that's not a tax rate, that's called fairness where i come from. >> all right. so how will today's monthly jobs report impac the candidates? economists predict the unemployment rate could tick up from 8.1 to 8.2%. that could be bad news forpresident obama. nbc's brian mooar has the latest. >> even if it's not great news today, it probably could be worse. >> reporter: today's jobs report is the second to the last before election day. it is a critical snapshot of an economy that's been stuck in low gear. >> whatever the numbers are, the romney campaign is going to cite them as evidence that president obama's policies are failing. >> the president is trying to convince people he's doing real well. he is not. >> reporter: building on a momentum of wednesday night's debate, romney's trying to reverse his fortunes in battle grounds like ohio where he's

fallen behind. >> under president obama we've lost half a million manufacturing jobs and china has passed us in manufacturing. >> reporter: the president argues the republicans are offering nothing new. >> it's not a plan to offer anything new. it is not a change, it is a relapse and we're not going to do it. rr the latest jobs report, cold, hard facts certain to be the subject of a heated debate. and economists expect the economy added a less than stellar 115,000 jobs last month. >> brian, thanks so much. now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. we're going to begin in new jersey with one family's dramatic escape from a fast moving fire. a surveillance camera was rolling when a mother and their five kids jumped from their five story apartment. a few good samaritans were there to soften the landing.

next to utah it turns out man's best friend was behind a suspected burglary when he ceived aall from his home phone he heard scratching and banging so he thought he was being robbed and called police. the officers didn't find anyone in the house but they learned his dog had gotten ahold of the cordless phone and hit the recall button. they're putting finishing touches on a halloween display. thousands of jack owe lanterns are carved with movie titles and themes. they're lined along a trail inside roger williams' zoo. this year is billed as all the world's a stage. no pressure there, mom and dad. now for a look add today's weather we'll talk to nbc's meteorologist bill karins. >> the crooked jagged teeth doesn't cut it anymore. >> you've upped your game. >> people start using stencils. not me. >> no.

>> good morning, everyone, yesterday, the snow was flying at this time in areas of north dakota. it moved into minnesota. this is pictures from fargo, north dakota. this is early in the season for a snow event. usually we get the first snow about mid october. a week or two early. it did cause some issues out there, but a lot of it will be melting in the days ahead. that big storm is kicking into northern minnesota and southern canada. on that front will have some showers and storms. driving on interstate 70 from kansas city to st. louis, there's a lot of strong showers and storms and this is blowing down with the central parts of illinois. chicago you look like that's going to stay to your south. the big weather story, the cooler air has swept into the middle of the country. out ahead of it, if you like summertime warmth enjoy it from the eastern seaboard. up i-95 through all the big cities it will be one of the

warmest days you'll see until next mid to late spring. temperatures in the 80s. we're starting off in the 60s from boston all the way down to atlanta. with a good deal of sunshine. humidity down a little bit. very enjoyable friday. back with the cool air, cold in denver this morning. we're at 31 degrees. we are below freezing. temperatures in the middle of the country, this is where it definitely feels like the middle of thefall. high of 47 in minneapolis. smiles if you like the warmth in the eastern seaboard. that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. well, raleigh, north carolina, is one of those spots where if you enjoy the warmth, get outside for lunch at 82 degrees. the front will eventually be trying to push through the ohio valley. showers in areas like pittsburgh and cincinnati. for the eastern seaboard it looks like the cooler air will arrive sunday. >> we will enjoy it. >> today? >> yes, we will. all right, coming up, charles manson's main man

pardon. the crime ring that stole almost a half billion of your money. your headlines are straight ahead. plus, working with the enemy. new "american idol" judge mariah carey's beefing up her security detail, and that's not all she told barbara walters. you're watching "early today."

>> welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. right now the deadly fungal meningitis outbreak has claimed 6 lives. the latest, indiana. people in 23 states who received steroid injections for back pain are being warned they, too, could be at risk. doctors and nurses are among 91 people charged nationwide in a massive medicare fraud case. the government said it was billed more than $400 million in bogus claims. new rules for secret service agents after that drunken

partying in a colombia hotel. agents are now banned from drinking at a hotel. no more drinking 10 hours before a shift and sharing sensitive information online could get you fired. bruce davis, known as charles manson's right hand man, has been recommended for parole. he's served more than four decades for the 1969 killings for of a musician and stunt man. governor jerry brown will have the final say. the mars curiosity rover is about to do a little digging. nasa says it will collect soil samples to learn if there were ever favorable conditions for microbial life. and one of the top trending health stories right now on msnbc.com could cause some controversy. offering free birth control can dramatically lower the rate of birth control. cases of abortion dropped from 66 to 75% below the national

level. these findings could impact this year's election. mitt romney has pledged to repeal the affordable care act which requires insurance to cover contraceptive costs. and now to wall street. the dow closed at 13,575 after gaining 80 points yesterday. the s&p was up ten. the nasdaq added 14. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei inched up 38 points and in hong kong the hang seng rose 34. barring any big surprises from september's jobs report, it could hit the high today. experts predict about 115,000 jobs were added last month. weekly claims ticked slightly higher yesterday. on thursday, coal companies rallied after republican mitt romney gave coal a shout out during wednesday night's presidential debate. troubling data paints a bleak picture of marketing confidence.

investors have pulled some $138 billion of investments in stocks since 2009 while funneling 1 trillion into less risky bonds. overseas today samsung reported record quarterly product. facebook is celebrating passing $1 billion users. zynga lowered its 2012 outlook for the second time this year. two days after loose seats happened, dozen more flights are being canceled to allow for additional repairs. in california, gas prices shot up as much as over 30 cents while some stations supplies have dried up thanks to refinery and pipeline problems. meanwhile, in canada, 16 trail lor loads of stolen maple syrup were escorted back to the warehouse in quebec. a barrel of the sticky commodity costs more than oil. meanwhile, a bitter sweet problem in france.

an m and m candy biogas plant nearby was the source of the artificial coloring. finally, only in new york do kids pay a baby-sitter to hold their phone. that's right, the devices aren't allowed at school so this company parks outside and holds their phone during class for $1 a day. coming up, the rams down the cards, a college football comeback and a boxing first. plus, a special blood soaked sock could be up for sale. your sports headlines are straight ahead. i don't even think i'd buy it if it was a yankee pitcher with a bloody sock. your forecast has temperatures tumbling on the eastern seaboard. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. this is "early today." in sports, the arizona cardinals started 4-0 for the first time in 38 years but could not notch number 5 against the rams last night. first drive sam bradford airs it out to danny amendola who makes a one arm grab. the cardinals surrendered nine sax. rams won it 17-3. college football they beat utah 38-28. usc quarterback matt barkley led

the trojans to victory. to baseball now where the boston red sox have fired manager bobby valentine. the sox went 69 and 93 in his only year in boston, that's the club's worst season since 1965. in hockey the nhl has canceled all regular season games through october 24th. that's 82 games. world boxing organization feather weight champion orlando cruz came out as the first active openly gay boxer in the history of the sport. finally, would you buy this, curt schilling might have to sell or give up the famed bloodstained sock he wore on the team's run to the 2004 world series championship. all of this in order to cover millions of dollars in loans he guaranteed to his failed video game company. >> announcer: early today sports is broit to you by new jest for men auto stop. dre is over. another star behind bars,

and which film will audiences be taken with this weekend? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. flus an update on the sachb diego zoo's cutest 9-week-old. that's true. you're watching "early today."

well, let me take you through your weekend forecast. we are starting off with a warm, beautiful friday in areas of the east. that will change over the

weekend. cooler air in the midwest will sweep to the east coast. a wet commute from kansas city to st. louis and into central portions of illinois. everyone else is relatively dry. the cool air is in place and it will stay here from saturday to sunday through the central plains. dallas will cool off as we go through the upcoming three-day period. on saturday we will see a few showers. it's really not until sunday that the much cooler air arrives in the southeast. a weak storm in the atlantic could make it a rainy saturday. if you're watching us in boston, mass., check out a unique exhibit. tribes showing their teeth at the hamill gallery of tribal art. that's your early today event of the day. bill, thanks so much. and now for entertainment news. william neeson's show is going to take the top spot at around $44 million. frank ken begin any has had strong reviews and is expected

to oip with 17 million and the musical comedy pitch perfect could open to the tune of around 16.5 million. well, on the view barbara walters said mariah carey told her by phone that she beefed up security after nicki minaj was overheard saying if she had a gun she would shoot her. minaj denies the story. darryl hannah was arrested tuesday while protesting the production of an oil pipeline. south korean rapper psy decided to take that shirt off during a concert in seoul even though his hip gangnam style has yet to reach number one on the billboard chart. you'rewell come. you're welcome for showing that to you. >> that's why i never threaten to take my shirt off. >> is that why? >> the payoff is probably not worth it. >> is that why? it would shut us down. this comes to us from san diego where there's some good news for one of the zoo's most adorable attractions.

it is a brand-new world for this little guy. the giant panda can you be. now that his east and ears are fully open the 9-week-old is taking in all the sights and sounds for the first time. the little guy's examination ended quicker than his last. he received a clean bill of health but not before acting like most newborns at the doctor's office. being a little fussy. the staff quickly returned him to his mother once he began to let out a few cries. you've been there, done that, bill, right? held them down. >> just did the 1-year-old shots. not fun. >> poor little guy. did he throw a fit, just like his dad? we have to do that to you all the time. >> hold me down? >> yeah. i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. here you go little man.

[ humming ] [ babbling ] the cheerios bandit got you again? [ both laugh ] ♪ the one and only, cheerios ...and now... you! [ giggles ] ♪ the one and only, cheerios

it is 4:28. 63 degrees ahead. another warm day on the way. will the humidity go away? and once again the spotlight shining on virginia as mitt romney and president obama appeal to voters trying to build momentum after their first debate. good morning, everybody. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to "news 4 today" this friday, october 5th, 2012. a fire broke out inside an

apartment complex at "k" and first streets at 6:00. part of the building was left scorched outside. we're told the victim jumped before firefighters arrived. crews had to rescue three others trapped inside. the cause of the fire is under investigation. this morning police are investigating an alleged sexual assault involving a d.c. jail guard. an inmate claims the assault happened in august. a spokesperson for the d.c. department of corrections confirmed there is an investigation. she would not comment, though, on the guard's current work status. a developing story this morning. the food and drug administration is warning people about a steroid suspecting a deadly meningitis outbreak. it came from a center in massachusetts and was sent to 75 different facilities in 23 states. it's for patients suffering from back pain. so far, five people have died, including one in virginia and maryland. maryland has released the names of the clinics who receive them.